Sea of Thieves is Rare’s riskiest voyage yet, but it’s a huge success

Belgian skateboarder sells fine-art skateboards for a good cause

This article was taken from the January 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content bysubscribing online.

Eleven years ago, Belgian skateboarder Charles-Antoine Bodson bought a deck used by pro skater Mark Gonzales that featured artwork by Keith Haring. He was hooked, and started collecting. He soon had 2,000 decks, including pieces by Banksy, Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, but was at a loss as to what to do with them. "I'm not 20 any more," says the 38-year-old.

So he came up with the idea of SK8room, a platform to sell fine-art skateboards for a good cause. He opened a shop in Brussels this June, with 20 per cent of sales going to Skateistan, a Berlin-based NGO that combines skateboarding and education for young people in Afghanistan and Cambodia.

The artists' designs are silkscreen-printed on to seven-ply skateboard decks made of Canadian maple, with prices starting at around €200. "You can hang it on the wall," says Bodson, "but if you want to use it, you get good materials." Next, he aims to raise money for a skatepark in Brazil, and is planning a charity auction of works. Just don't ask him to part with that Haring.

This article was first published in the January 2014 issue of WIRED magazine